Cadet Life
As in many military institutions, life at LSMA was very structured and rigorous, with a cadet's days very tightly scheduled. A typical day began at 6:45AM with Reveille and formation on Company Street, the concrete street on the East side of St. Joseph's Hall. The cadets marched off to breakfast. After breakfast, inspection was held. Cadets were expected to be in uniform, clean-shaven (for those old enough to shave);, shoes and brass shined. Any deficiency gained the cadet "demerits," and an accumulation of twenty or more meant the cadet had to "march post duty" on Saturday instead of going home (many cadets lived locally and went home for the weekend).
After inspection, the cadets attended classes much the same as in any school. La Salle justly had a reputation as a top-notch school academically. Many cadets reported that their first and second years of college were a rehash of the classes they had at LSMA. At various times the school offered advanced college-level classes to students as young as tenth grade. Honors students even studied Calculus and Marine Biology. The LSMA campus, on the shore of the Great South Bay and adjacent to protected marshlands, provided an ideal environment for such studies.
After classes ended the cadets formed on the parade field for drill. Cadets drilled as squads, platoons and companies at various times. Competitions were held, with awards given by the Military Staff to the best drillers. Another very competitive area was Manual of Arms, with competitions among the Cadet Corps at large as well as the elite La Salle Rifles drill team.
After drill time, there was "free time," which for most cadets meant either interschool or intramural sports. There were Baseball, Football, Track, Basketball and Soccer teams. Because LSMA was in the Catholic league with Diocesan high schools ten times its size, it was often tough to be competitive. However, LSMA did prevail for several championships. With so many Latin students, they often fielded a good Soccer team. Their Speech and Debate team was a perennial powerhouse as well.
After free time, the Cadets changed and there was an evening formation. The flag was taken down and the Cadet Corps marched off to dinner. After dinner, there was a little additional free time until Study Period - three hours where students had to sit at their desks and were expected to study their academics. Taps was at 10PM.
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